By Jack Witthaus and Richard Bilbao  –  Orlando Business Journal

Jul 15, 2021 Updated Jul 15, 2021, 4:22pm EDT

The Walt Disney Co. has confirmed it will relocate roughly 2,000 jobs from its California headquarters to Lake Nona throughout the next 18 months, a master-planned community in southeast Orlando.

Initially, the Disney campus will be home to imagineers and other professionals, but a specific site in Lake Nona has not been identified. The campus is expected to be a new building. A size wasn’t immediately known.

Most of the relocating professional roles will be related to Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products division — which include theme parks — who are not fully dedicated to the Disneyland Resort. Walt Disney Co.’s headquarters will remain in California and the relocating jobs will represent less than 5% of the total number of Disney jobs in California.

“This new project will create a dynamic environment to support our expanding business — a brand-new regional campus which will be built in the vibrant Lake Nona community of Orlando,” said Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.

D’Amaro said the move is partially due to Florida’s business-friendly climate. “This new regional campus gives us the opportunity to consolidate our teams and be more collaborative and impactful both from a creative and operational standpoint.”

Josh D'Amaro

Orlando Business Journal first reported in January that Disney was in talks to relocate some of its office divisions from its headquarters to Lake Nona. The discussions came as many big-name California firms like Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) revealed relocations to Southeastern cities, which are seen as more business- and tax-friendly. That said, talks for Disney’s job relocation began in 2019.

Currently, Disney — owner and operator of Walt Disney World in Orlando and the largest employer in Central Florida — employs roughly 60,000 people in Central Florida.

“With Disney’s move and large investment in our community, we are delighted to welcome one of the world’s most recognized brands to Lake Nona. By choosing to build a new regional campus in Lake Nona, Disney will become part of this smart city where cutting-edge ideas turn into realities,” said Nick Beucher, president of Tavistock Development Co., which is the owner and developer of Lake Nona.

For Orlando, these jobs likely represent the largest corporate relocation to the region, which has struggled to attract big-name companies compared to its peers in other Southeastern cities.

Walt Disney World has four local theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Walt Disney World alone is the top generator for visitation to Orlando, with more than 50 million people going through its turnstiles in previous years — many of those repeat visitors.

Disney also owns two area water parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, as well as several themed hotels, golf courses, a camping resort, timeshare properties, a residential community called Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort, ESPN Wide World of Sports and the Disney Springs retail, dining and entertainment complex.

Original Article from Orlando Business Journal: https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2021/07/15/orlando-florida-jobs-lake-nona-disney.html